Working for the Long Haul

This was a recent journal entry of mine that I thought I would share with you.  Hope you enjoy.

Proverbs 29:18   "Where there is no vision, the people perish"

"We are working for the long haul.  We aim not for the apparent triumph of the moment, but for the ultimate success of our cause."

-- Abraham Kuyper

"I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." 

-- The Apostle Paul

There is such rich wisdom in the simple words of Paul and men like Abraham Kuyper.  A mere sentence is absolutely permeated with revelation.  My spirit takes notice of the heartache, the victory, the triumph, the folly, the trial, the sleepless nights, etc. from which these words were written.  They are not simple words written in moments of realization.  They are rich words, complex thoughts, forged through the fire of days, weeks, months, and years of trial and error, success and failure. They are years of emotion and memory reduced to short bursts of life-altering sentences.  

I, for one, struggle with viewing life in small fractions.  Seeing one moment or day as the reality of the whole, which in any given moment of even slight despair will give way to utter defeat and forfeit.  

press on.  overcome.  the long haul.  

These strengthen my resolve and my will.  Today I find it hard to remember and believe in the dreams of God.  Dreams He has repeatedly spoken to me in quiet moments and loud voices of others.  Even after reminders, my mind and spirit seem to slightly forget.  But I do know they're there.  They must be.  And because they are, I press on for another day.  I inch closer to Him and His majesty through his eternal word, prayer, and the intimacy with the beloved Holy Spirit.  

Today I see in part but one day I will see in full.  I am not of this world and it is for this reason alone I will not succumb to its dreams and the future it so adamantly offers.  My inner man presses on towards another day.  To see a day that has yet to come to pass.  To live a life belonging to the rightful King.  My vision is heaven and my perspective is eternity. 

I believe we truly underestimate the small steps of perseverence in our lives.  Each choice of self-denial and submission of our will to that of Christ's, each intentional costly sacrifice, no matter how 'significant' we declare it to be, affects our testimony and encourages the saints around us to do the same.  Further, those who do not know Jesus curiously question why we live such a life that counters the norm whether out loud or in their hearts.  Thankfully, we have only one proper response:  "The man Christ Jesus and my love for Him."  Notice and recognize that we are building our witness to Christ and testimony one day at a time, one choice at a time.  Each one an opportunity to choose the glory of Christ.

Romans 8:18  "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Update from the beloved country.

I can't believe we're already on our fourth week of outreach.  How time flies!  It's been an amazing first three weeks as well.  The Lord has truly blessed me with such an amazing team.  Every night we cook dinner and eat together and spend a great amount of time investing in each other's lives and deepening our friendships.  I believe it's a reflection of the passage when Jesus is talking to his disciples in John chapter 13 I believe, verses 34-35.  He tells his disciples to 'love each other, as I have loved you.  That way the world will know that you are my disciples.'  Team South Africa has done an amazing job at adopting this mindset.

A recent highlight from this week was yesterday in which we split up into two teams and walked around the community of Mbonswini, where the church we work with is located.  We did two separate walks of approximately two hours each.  On the first our team was walking the streets and noticed this man below (named Elfas) and two women walking with a wheelbarrow.  After a few attempts to ask if we could help with whatever they were doing (they didn't speak english), one of the women motioned for us to follow her, so we went and ended up at their house.  There they introduced us to the grandfather of the family, named John.  We were able to pray for his head and shoulder to be healed and also for another woman in the family (not sure what relation) for the entire left side of her boy to be healed of paralyzation.  We didn't see any healing take place but what a blessing it was to be able to talk with them, pray for them, and bless them.  After the mood being somewhat awkward at the beginning, things began to loosen up and become very relaxed.  They were extremely welcoming and even participated in us praying for healing.  As we prepared to leave, Elfas (pictured below) climbed an avocado tree in front of their house and started chopping off branches.  To our surprise, they joyfully gave us two bags full of avocados and two bunches of bananas, all the while saying 'praise Jesus!'  We plan to return to their house in the coming weeks and bake them food to return the blessing and extend the relationship.  Hopefully they will join us at the local church before we leave.  Pray for this!

After the first round, we went back to the church for lunch before heading out again.  After lunch my group walked the opposite direction and immediately ran into a gentlemen by the name of Mishak Khumalo.  He invited us down to his house and he began to tell us much of his story.  He is a fifty year old man who is unable to work because of an injury to his left arm.  Thus, we lives with his mother and his nephew and niece who are orphans.  Oddly enough, we recognized the kids from a feeding the previous week.  It was difficult to listen to Mishak's story of how he grew up in Mbon, moved to Johannesburg but was homeless, and then returned to Mbon only to live with his mother and not work.   A prayer point for his situation would be that he a) is able to find a job or b) receives the grant he is hoping for from the government so that he will be able to support himself.   It would be nice to see him at church sometime but he mentioned how he prays for himself but doesn't involve himself with church much anymore.  Regardless, we prayed with him anyway and asked that the Lord would renew and rekindle a relationship with Mishak.  After praying for and blessing him, we set out down the dirt road farther into the community.  At the end of the road, we noticed two little children playing on a hill.  Golden opportunity.  The kids here are all so warm and love to play and receive attention.  One of the best things to do, despite not being able to communicate verbally, is to play with a child and to love them as Jesus did.  After playing with the children for about 20 minutes, this little guy showed up as well.  I'm not sure if his name is Tio or Dio but regardless, he may be one of the cutest little boys I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.  Luckily, I was able to get this shot of him.

Thank you all so much for praying for our team.  This week, we are headed to Swaziland for 5 days.  We will be living with a couple who has 13 kids.  Two of their own, four between the two of them, and 7 of their orphaned nieces and nephews.  The couple has a relationship with 10K homes so I am very excited to meet them!  The husband's name is Petros and I am unaware of the wife's name at this time.  We will be walking with the kids to school, doing work in the school and community, home visits, and simply living with and loving on the family for a few days.  We'll be able to cook and eat meals with all of them and simply enjoy community.  Pray that communication goes well and that everything will go smoothly.  The kids are always in need of warm clothes so as a team, we have all learned to knit (Kat from Germany and Jane from Korea taught us!) and so we have spent many hours the past 2 days trying to finish scarves for the kids.  I never thought I would, but I have now learned to knit a scarf.  Check that off of the bucket list I guess! haha.

Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Blessings.

Jonathan

Video Update #5

This. video. is. incredible.

Yes, Jesus loves you.

If you're reading this, that means you're human.  That then means Jesus loves you and wants to know you. It's that simple.  Jesus desires our heart.  That's what blows my mind.  So often in this world we're tempted to think that we have to strive after the heart of God and pursue Him and stretch our arms to reach Him and pour out ourselves.  Take a moment and sit back. Rest. Wait.  He's pursuing you and me and He'll never stop. Period. Because He's a violent lover of men.  Not earthly violent.  A divine violent.